Shadows in the Night
by Sarah Cabbage Patch
Summary: What happens after Raven’s birthday party? Can Robin just let her keep her cryptic answers or will he let her be? Is there something more to his concern for her? Something deeper? One shot


Teen Titans: Shadows of the Night

One-Shot

Disclaimer: Not mine, but Oh! What wondrous things I could have done with this latest episode! **_Glomps_** I would make such an incredible, awesome, prolly smut-filled, show! **_Sigh_** So apparently, if you couldn't tell, I don't own them...yet...

Summary: What happens after Raven's birthday party? Can Robin just let her keep her cryptic answers or will he let her be? Is there something more to his concern for her? Something deeper?

* * *

I watched her walk back down the hallway after the party was over, she was looking even more forlorn than she had earlier today. I was glad that she had chosen me, out of anyone here, to bear her secret, her _burden _with her and I felt almost as if I owed her something more. She had always been there for me; we were connected, our minds were molded together, and all so she could help me with my problems. In return she opened up to me and let me in on more than anyone else knew.

Her and I are so much alike and it's weird that it took us that long to notice it. I mean, we both share a rather dark past, hers more so than mine, but I definitely have my share of haunting events. And we both respect the other's privacy and we like the quiet sometimes, and even a good book now and then really hits the spot, but we wouldn't trade our friends for anything.

We talk quite a bit now, ever since the mindmeld, and she has become my best friend a thousand times over... A best friend that I seem to have fallen in love with. I don't think she knows how I feel yet and I try not to make it too obvious, I don't want to scare her away, or worse, ruin the incredible friendship we have going on right now. More than anything, though, right now I just want to hold her in my arms and take her hand and let her know that everything is going to be all right, that she can just unload everything onto me and I'll do everything I can to maker her happy.

* * *

**_We're running with the shadows of the night_**

**_So baby take my hand, it'll be all right_**

**_Surrender all your dreams to me tonight_**

**_They'll come true in the end

* * *

_**

I stand outside her door, trying to get up the courage to knock and talk to her. I know she really isn't asleep like she wants us to think, I can feel her awake. I can feel her worry. I can practically taste her fear. I just wish she would talk about it with me; I mean, she talks to me, but she doesn't tell me what is truly in her heart and she thinks I can't tell that she's holding back. I'd like to think I know her better than that. I know I do.

I finally get the courage up and knock on her door; I can hear her as she moves around and calms herself down before opening the door. She doesn't ask who it is, she knows by now when it is me waiting for her. She opens the door and steps aside so that I can enter. She knows I want to talk and I'm surprised she has even let me in if she has been claiming that everything is all right now. I go and sit on her bed and she follows and sits right next to me. I'm a little saddened that she has cut her hair, but I understand why she did it: she didn't want to look in the mirror everyday and identify herself with the supposed horrific future that lays ahead for her.

We sit in silence for awhile, both of us just staring at the floor, twiddling with our thumbs, waiting for the other one to finally say something. I chance a look at her and I see her looking at her feet, completely bathed in the moonlight and looking so incredibly gorgeous. She looks up at me and we just stare at each other, as we so often do, and it's then that I know what I want to say, what I think she needs to hear right now.

"You can't keep this all to yourself anymore Raven, you need to start telling me everything. I want to know, I _need _to know, everything that is going on in your head right now. If you keep hiding these things from me then how can I ever truly help you? I just want to be there for you Raven; I want to help you because, right now, I'm the only one you've got to talk to."

* * *

**_You said - oh girl, it's a cold world_**

**_When you keep it all to yourself_**

**_I said you can't hide on the inside_**

**_All the pain you've ever felt_**

**_Ransom my heart, but baby don't look back_**

**_'Cause we got nobody else

* * *

_**

Raven just looked at me for a minute, taken aback, I presumed, at my outburst, but she slowly seemed to relax and lighten up.

"I don't want to drag you down with me Robin, that isn't fair to you, to anyone."

"But I _want _you to drag me down Raven! I want you to hand me your troubles and not look back. I want to be here for you, to help you, to hold you through the night and keep your inner demons away."

"I don't want you down here with me, though, Robin! I need you to be back up there, waiting for me, to help me get out of whatever trouble I'm in. I don't need you down here, stuck in my turmoil with no way out."

"But I wouldn't just be _stuck _down there with you. I would there _beside _you, sharing your pain, keeping you company... so we could help each other."

"But _why_? Why do you want to be down here with me? Why do you want to help me so much?"

"Because I want to Raven; I need to."

"That's not a good enough reason. Now tell me the truth."

I turned to face her and I clasped her hands in mine, forcing her to look up at me.

"Raven, I want to help you, I want to be there for you, be here when you need me. But I don't want to help you with just your troubles, I want to be there to help you with your dreams, your goals, your desires and your wants. I just want you to be happy;_ I_...want to be what makes you happy..."

* * *

**_We're running with the shadows of the night_**

**_So baby take my hand, it'll be all right_**

**_Surrender all your dreams to me tonight_**

**_They'll come true in the end

* * *

_**

"What do you mean _you _want to be what makes me happy? What are you saying Robin?"

"What I'm saying Raven, is that I would do anything for you, if I knew it would make you happy, or even if it would just bring the tiniest hint of a smile to your face. I just want to be with you, though, and I know you trust me as much as I trust you; we are so much alike Rae, we've discussed this, and I think we need to really stick together on these kinda things."

"Why is it so important to you if I'm happy? What difference does it make if I live or die in the big scheme of things? If I live and be happy, I'll only bring torment and pain to those all around me; if I die... then everyone else gets to be happy. Personally, I would rather sacrifice myself and not be selfish when it comes down to my friends and family."

"Raven how can you say that! That is absolutely _ludicrous_! How can you even think that I could be happy if you were gone? I don't think I could go on if I lost you!"

Raven just sat there and stared at me, an unknown expression crossing her face as she pondered my words. She seemed to be struggling with her thoughts and I wanted desperately to know what she was thinking, but I held back and waited for her to speak first.

"Raven?"

"Why did you just say '_you_?' Don't you mean the whole team?"

Here it was, this was my chance to finally tell her.

"No Rae, I meant just me. I care for you more than you could ever imagine. I have for so long and it has just been intensified since the mindmeld and everything else that has happened between us lately. Raven, I know that you think you don't need something new to deal with right now, but I lo— "

"NO!"

She started shaking her head and closing her eyes as a few tiny tears escaped.

"Raven, please..."

"Robin, you don't know what you're talking about! You can't feel that way about me, you just can't! Besides, feelings of that caliber never last; they are just meaningless words that people use when they don't have anything else to say."

* * *

**_You know that sometimes, it feels like_**

**_It's all moving way too fast_**

**_Use every alibi and words you deny_**

**_That love ain't meant to last_**

**_You can cry tough baby, it's all right_**

**_You can let me down easy, but not tonight

* * *

_**

Raven tried to break away from me and stand up, but I stood up with her and pulled her into my arms and just held her there. She struggled for a second, but then she relaxed and then started crying softly into my shirt. I rubbed her back with one hand and tangled my other one in her hair.

"I know that you've been hurt before Raven and I respect that you have fears, but you can't allow yourself to be afraid of everything, especially me. You and me, Raven, we're like...like... shadows. We are those shadows in the night that people rely on to let them know that they're still alive. We are the type of people who have such an iniquity to us that we need to lurk in another person's darkness just to survive. I don't think I could help you as much if I stayed up here and tried to keep you afloat.

"And I know you feel the same way; I mean, how could you effectively help me if you didn't know what I was truly going through? How can _we _help _each other _if we're separated, if we're alone? How can we ever be happy if we're just an ignored shadow in someone else's life? Raven you are the shadow that lurks in the back of my mind, telling me what is right and what is wrong, keeping me on the right path, the little voice in my head telling me everything is going to be okay, that _I'm _going to be okay."

Raven pulled away from me a bit and looked deep into my soul. I didn't even stop her as her hands flew up to my face and took off my mask. She stared into my brightly colored orbs, marveling at the intensity of both my electric blue and my emerald green one. Her corners curved up a bit and she inched herself just a bit closer.

"So you hear those pesky little voices too? I think you might want to get that checked out. We can't have it going around that our honorable leader is hearing dark voices in his head."

I laughed and hugged tightly, kissing the top of her head, grateful that my sarcastic Raven was back for now.

"Very funny Rae, you know you hear 'em too."

"You're right... I honestly don't know what I would do without them. They're like my own personal set of Little Robins who let me know how I'm doing."

"You know you can always just ask your Big Robin and he'll tell ya what's going on."

She laughed a little chuckle and buried her face into the crook of my neck. I wanted to just stay there the rest of the night, but she pulled back yet again and smiled up at me. She led me back to the bed and surprised me with what she did next. First she sat down and I followed, but then she laid down on her bed and motioned for me to do the same. I hesitated at first, but at her urging I set down beside her and we just laid there, looking at each other, our faces no more than a few inches apart. She then reached down and grabbed my hand and pulled it up close to her chest.

"Do you really want to know all about my hopes, my dreams, my wants and desires?"

* * *

_**We're running with the shadows of the night**_

_**So baby take my hand, it'll be all right**_

_**Surrender all your dreams to me tonight**_

_**They'll come true in the end

* * *

**_

"Of course I do; I want you to tell me _everything_."

The clock in her room struck midnight and we just stayed there in the cover of the darkness, lying in each other's moonlight shadow. She looked like an angel right then and there and there was no way, in my mind, she could ever be capable of the things her father wanted her to do. I knew, at that moment, even without her saying it, that she loved me as much as I loved her, and maybe even more so. We didn't necessarily need any words to convey our feelings, just a simple handhold and a heartfelt confession of our innermost feelings and secrets.

"Well for starters, I've always wanted to sing in a bar somewhere..."

"Really? I never pegged you much for a performer."

"Oh yeah, when I was little Azar taught me how to sing to keep myself calm and my emotions in check, a sort of catharsis if you will."

"Any chance you might sing for me?"

"If everything comes out the way I want it to and not the way it should, then maybe I'll consider it..."

"You promise?"

"Would I ever lie to you, my Boy Blunder?"

"Heh. You called me yours, does this mean you want me as bad as I want you?"

"Hmph. It must be the demon in me, they tend to be quite possessive. And yes, I do want you..."

She gave me a quick, chaste kiss, our first kiss ever, lingering there for a moment and then breaking away to snuggle down into my warm embrace.

"I want you to never leave my side, I want you to love me as long as I love you, I want you to let me care for you in my own special way, but most of all, I want _you_... to go to sleep."

* * *

**_And now the hands of time are standin' still_**

**_Midnight angel, won't you say you will

* * *

A/N: Well, whatcha think? I was on such a high from the Birthmark episode that I had to do something, seeing as how I no longer have my image software and I couldn't make any icons. Cries softly Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good program or something for fixing up images and whatnot? I used to have some JASC Animation Studio that come with my computer, but I somehow lost it. Oh well, let me know what you think, I don't even know why I picked this song, it just seemed a little too much like Raven to pass up. Anyhoo, I'll quit jabbering now, seeing as how it's three o'clock in the morning and I SO need some sleep. Just let me know how you liked it, or hated it as the case may be! L8R Daze..._**


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